With confidence the hurdle can be cleared, Democrats are planning for another two full weeks or longer of debate on the measure before completing action, a Democratic leadership aide told CNN.FULL POST

(CNN) - As gun legislation talks between Sen. Joe Manchin, D-West Virginia, and Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Oklahoma, stretch on with no compromise over a provision that would include background checks for all gun purchases, Manchin has begun talks with another conservative Republican, Sen. Pat Toomey (Pennsylvania), sources familiar with the talks confirm to CNN.

A Senate Democratic leadership aide says they "feel positive" about the prospects of brokering a deal that would include a background check provision, but "it's not done and could still fall apart."FULL POST

Washington (CNN) – President Barack Obama's latest effort to court GOP lawmakers through personal meetings may be grabbing headlines, but members of his own party say it's not just Republicans who deserve some face time with the commander-in-chief.

Sen. Joe Manchin, the West Virginia Democrat who's one of the most conservative voices in his party, said Obama is just now beginning to forge personal relationships with Senate Democrats, despite having served in the chamber before being elected president.FULL POST

(CNN) – As Americans remain fed-up with Congress, who are largely seen as "do-nothing," one group is setting aside talk of action and starting with a more modest goal: talking.

"The only way we're going to get traction on the issues that really do matter - whether it's balancing budgets, energy, immigration, you name it - is to get some people, Republicans and Democrats alike, who agree to meet on a regular basis and focus on problem solving," Jon Huntsman, a national leader of the group "No Labels," said Monday on CNN's "Starting Point."FULL POST

(CNN) - The bi-partisan group No Labels, which seeks to transform the nature of problem solving in Washington, is picking up two prominent moderates, the group announced.

Former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman sought the 2012 Republican presidential nomination and, before that, was President Barack Obama's ambassador to China. Sen. Joe Manchin, a West Virginia Democrat and former governor of the state, was sworn in on Thursday to his second term in Washington.FULL POST

(CNN) - Sen. Joe Manchin, a conservative Democrat from West Virginia and "proud gun owner," said Monday he believes last week's Connecticut elementary school shooting should be the tipping point in the debate over limiting gun rights.

"Who would have ever thought, in America, or anywhere in the world, that children would be slaughtered?" he said on CNN's "Amanpour." "You know, that–it's changed me."FULL POST